


Danse Macabre

by Ju_ne



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Fan Minji, Mentions of Blood, Singer Handong, Vampires, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25169788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ju_ne/pseuds/Ju_ne
Summary: Minji's life is taking a new turn today: she will meet her idol and is attending her first fan sign! Something easy for humans, but not that simple for a vampire...
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Kim Minji | JiU
Comments: 33
Kudos: 101
Collections: Deukae Vampire Ficfest 2k20





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I initially wanted to write a one shot only but I got an idea while writing, so this is actually an introduction! Please take it lightly and forget my many mistakes, I'm exhausted these days and this was actually hard to write already but I really wanted to finish this intro and hopefully, when I feel rested, I'll write the main story that will be way better than this!  
> Enjoy!

Minji had always been fascinated by music. As a 361 years old vampire, she has had a lot of time to devote to her passion and today she was about to experience something new, something she never thought she would be able to do. Minji was born in 1659 in a wealthy family in Korea. Since her young age, she had developed a great sense for music, especially singing and she was promised a great career, even a possibility to sing for the King himself until her life was turned upside down on her 23rd birthday. A vampire attacked her family, killing her parents and letting Minji between life and death, intoxicated by his poison. A few days later, she became a vampire herself, destined to be 23 years old forever.

  
The first years after her transformation, she had to flee and tried to isolate herself and took some time to learn how to control her new abilities. Unlike the vampire who attacked her on purpose, she did not want to become a bloodthirsty destructive beast that doesn’t care about life around her. She would never let go of her kindness.

  
It took her half a century to be able to fully control herself in the presence of humans, but with perseverance, she had been able to live in the city again and most importantly, she had been able to reintegrate the society and reconnect with her true love: music.

  
The following years, Minji used her vampire abilities to discover more and more about the world and especially how music was used in every culture. She found a balance between her needs as a vampire and her passion for singing, she tried to always feed without killing humans or animals, taking just what she needed discreetly and then join festivities or concerts, guided by the sound of instruments or voices she could now hear from far away. This was her biggest advantage, she didn’t need to be close to the music to enjoy it, she could stay in a calm place and just listen to the songs, observing humans’ reaction to it or simply letting it touch her heart.

  
After years of perambulations and a fair amount of new knowledge, Minji had decided to come back to Korea in 1995 where she decided to stay when she discovered Kpop and became curious to see how it would evolve.

  
25 years later, she didn’t regret her decision. Kpop had become sensational, not only in Korea but all around the world and she had a lot of fun observing how it became bigger and bigger every year, bringing in the industry a whole new concept, especially with the way idols interacted with their fans. Minji was particularly curious about fansigns but didn’t dare to go to one yet, she still had some apprehension to go and stay in crowded places and was afraid of not being able to control herself correctly. She couldn’t even imagine the mess it would create if she weren’t able to hold back and suddenly attack an idol or any human in the crowd.

  
Regardless of her doubts and fears, she was actually in a waiting line to enter one of those fansign. ‘Only idiots don’t change their mind’ she reminded herself.  
About two weeks ago, Minji was scrolling through her YouTube recommendation when a particular thumbnail attracted her attention. The video was entitled “Handong “Prequel” Debut single MV”. The thumbnail showed a really beautiful girl, all dressed in black, reflected on a mirror. She wasn’t smiling and the whole atmosphere of the image was definitely dark. This was new, Minji had follow Kpop for years now but it was the first time she saw something like this for a girl, especially a soloist. When the video started, Minji was instantly bewitched by the content, the atmosphere, the beauty of the mysterious girl, the dark music… Despite the eerie aura, it was definitely refreshing for Minji and within a few hours, she had watch every video on Handong’s channel and had found every information she needed to know about her. When she discovered that Handong was having a fansign a few days later, she knew she had to go. Since Handong was just debuting, the fansign wouldn’t be too crowded, it was the perfect occasion, it was time for Minji to put her fear aside, feed correctly and finally live her fan girl life to the fullest.

  
And there she was, waiting in line to meet Handong, holding her album against her chest. When the doors finally opened to let everyone enter to take place in the room, Minji felt like kid, she hadn’t been this excited for years! Yet, she knew she had to remain calm, she took place on a chair at the back and tried to be careful around so many humans. She fed last night and this morning, with two bags of blood in less than twelve hours, she was sure she wouldn’t have any impulse today, and yet, she preferred being extra careful.

  
After everyone took place in the room, they only had to wait a few minutes before finally see Handong step inside with confidence… She was full of grace, simply gorgeous. Minji had met plenty of beautiful people during her life but Handong was definitely on top of that list.  
Minji felt a little out of place when every single fan in the room yelled, clapped, cried at Handong’s sight, the presence of the woman in the same room as them was definitely making them feel all sorts of intense emotions. Minji remained calm, she had seen enough to know it was best for her to control herself and simply have a nice conversation with Handong when it’ll be her turn.

  
Finally, after fans calmed down and Handong introduced herself, creating a new wave of clapping and yelling in the public, the actual fan sign could start. One by one, people were sitting on the chair placed just in front of Handong, talking a short instant with her while she was signing their album. One by one, the queue in front of Minji was getting smaller and eventually, when only two people were left, she felt the excitement grew again in her chest, her senses sharpened and despite her effort to calm down, she couldn’t help but feel, hear, smell and study everything around her, including what she wanted to block out the most: thoughts.

  
One of Minji’s most powerful asset was the reading of minds, it could be really convenient but today of all day, she had planned to be a simple 23 years old woman enjoying a meeting with an idol, and not a vampire listening to people’s mind wondering what does their blood taste like. Unfortunately, when her instinct woke up this way, blocking people’s thoughts was difficult, and it was even harder in crowds or when people were excited. She almost regretting coming here, the last thing she wanted was to put Handong and other people in danger… However, when her time came and she sat in front of the young idol, she was able to focus only on her.

  
“- Hello, what is your name?” Handong said. _‘Wow, she is really beautiful’_ Minji heard, and replied with a smile.

  
“- Hi, my name is Minji.”

  
“- You’re gorgeous Minji, with that face and that body, you could be an idol yourself!”

  
“- I love music and singing, but I don’t think the idol lifestyle would fit me, I really admire your courage for starting a career by yourself in this.” Minji explained.

  
“- Thanks! It’s not as hard as it seems when you’re passionate about your work, and here I’m able to create music, sing and dance. Some days are long but I will never regret starting this adventure. And I get to meet beautiful girls like you! _‘Ah I shouldn’t flirt with her, she’s just a fan, I got too comfortable for a second’_ … “I mean, all my fans are beautiful and they give me a lot of motivation!” Handong added with a smile.

  
“- Well they’re not as beautiful as you, for sure.” Minji replied with a wink. She had to admit, even though she originally didn’t want to overhear the idol’s thoughts, the situation was actually fun and it had been so long since she last flirted playfully with someone, she didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Handong blush lightly and decided to change the topic of the conversation since they were running low of time.

  
“- I hope next time I’ll get to hear you sing Minji, I’m sure your voice is heavenly.”

  
“- I’m more devilish than angelic but I think my voice is quite nice, yes. I’ll prepare something for you next time then, I’m not sure we have time right now.” Minji said without thinking too much, seeing the manager was about to ask her to leave.

  
“- I have another fansign next week, will you be there? Handong asked _‘I really want to see you again Minji’_

  
Minji hesitated a second. She actually hadn’t planned to reiterate her fansign experience but after hearing Handong’s thought… Maybe she could give it another go. Just once, prepare a little song, and then go back to her usual loner lifestyle.

  
“- I’ll be there.” Minji replied firmly, looking at Handong right into her eyes, conveying her feelings to the young girl, this was a promise, she would be there.

  
“- I’m looking forward to see you again.” Handong said, taking Minji’s hand in hers when she was about to take back her album. _‘Oh, she’s as cold as ice’_ She raised her head and Minji saw a hint of worries in her eyes. She replied with her warmest smile to reassure her.

  
“- Thank you for everything Handong, I’ll see you next week then.” Minji stood up after the annoyed manager had asked her to move at least three times now, she removed her hand after giving a last squeeze to Handong’s hands. When she went back to her place, she couldn’t help but overhear one last thought. _‘Fuck, I may have a little crush on that girl. Good job, I said I shouldn’t flirt but it’s exactly what I did… She didn’t help me, playing along like this. I really hope she’ll be there again next week.’_

  
The vampire sat down, trying to calm down, she was back in her seat and she needed to focus to not be overflown by everyone’s thoughts. It only took her a few minutes to be able to block totally her mind from intrusive thoughts, she felt calmer now that her face to face meeting with Handong was over. She looked back at the stage: the signing session was over and the singer was about to perform her song on the stage. As soon as the music started, the eerie atmosphere seen in the music video filled the room. Minji was impressed by every move of the idol, her dancing was powerful and her singing was impeccable despite the difficult choreography.

  
When the performance was over, Handong thanked everyone and mentioned the next fansign.

  
“- I hope I will see you guys there!” She said with enthusiasm to everyone, however, she was staring directly into Minji’s eyes. Even though the vampire was at the back of the room, there was no mistake possible, she was looking right at her.

  
After a last round of applause, Handong went backstage and everyone else stood up, ready to leave. Minji followed, still holding her album close to her chest. Suddenly remembering that Handong signed it, she opened it to see what the idol wrote inside.

  
“To Minji, we may have more in common than you think… I hope I’ll see you next week, Handong.”

  
Loneliness had never been a problem to Minji, after she was turned into a vampire, she had to learn how to enjoy her own company and this alone time was even something that she needed now. However, she wouldn’t say no to something new and exciting and it seems her journey as Handong’s fan, or maybe more, was only starting.


	2. The Cardinal's Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I'm updating this! Enjoy, but remember english isn't my first language so yes, there are mistakes...

For the second time in a week, Minji was waiting in line to meet Handong. After their first encounter, it had been hard for her to stop thinking about the idol and even though she still had apprehension about being out in public and surrounded by so many humans, she couldn’t resist the singer’s request and came to the second fansign.

The line was moving slowly, which made Minji’s nervousness only increase, she felt weirdly warm, which was particularly abnormal for a vampire whose body was basically a freezing moving corpse. She was fidgeting her fingers nervously, constantly moving her hands together or crossing and uncrossing her arms, unable to stay in one position longer than ten seconds. She wondered how the tiny human in front of her was able to stay so still when all she wanted to do right now was run away, or at least, get to the point: finally moving and sitting in front of Handong to talk to her again.

It was becoming hard to stay calm and focused on her goal without unleashing her senses to their full potential, but she didn’t want to hear any of those humans’ thoughts, she didn’t want to smell the blood, she didn’t want to see it moving through their inviting carotid artery… Minji closed her eyes, trying to chase the taste of iron coming in her mouth just by the mere mention of blood. Her taste buds were remembering it too well were already salivating… Humans were so weak, it would be so easy to simply let her guard down and attract one of them in a silent place to suck some of its blood.

She clenched her fists until her nails punctured her skin, cutting it open neatly, she felt her own blood flowing slowly at the surface of her palms. Raising her hands, she discreetly licked the dark liquid. She opened her eyes again and was directly met by Handong’s gaze on her. It lasted only a second, and Minji wasn’t sure she was able decipher the singer’s expression correctly: she seemed worried. Worried?

Minji pulled herself together before overthinking even more, drinking a drop of her own blood had somehow helped her refocus: she knew her palms wounds would recover by the time she would reach Handong but she definitely had to calm down. She relaxed her shoulders by taking a deep breath while focusing on the movement of her chest. Not that she needed air, but she definitely needed to take control of her own senses again.

Within a few minutes, she felt the storm inside of her settle down, and before she could start overthinking of what was she going to say and what was the meaning of the message Handong left her on her album last week, she realized she was up next. 

The manager asked the person sitting in front of Handong to leave, putting one hand on their shoulder, his other hand extended to Minji, inviting her to get closer.

Minji looked at Handong saying a rushed goodbye to the previous fan and finally, she turned her eyes to Minji, her smile becoming brighter. As soon as the vampire sat in front of her, the artist started the conversation:

“- I’m happy to see you again Minji.” She said softly. “How are you doing? You seemed anxious when you were waiting in the line.”

“- I’m happy to be here too.” Minji replied quietly, trying to hide the tension in her voice. “I’m okay, just a bit nervous.”

Handong gave a small smile and continued:

“- Did you think about the message I wrote last week? Did you guess what else we have in common?” the singer asked, looking straight into Minji’s eyes.

“- I- I have to admit that only music came to my mind when I tried to think about it.” Minji admitted, not breaking the eye contact.

_“- Really? I think if you open your eyes, your real eyes, you would see it though.”_

Minji opened her eyes wide, still staring at Handong who was now smiling at her.

“- _Minji you need to relax, and you have to be careful, shutting down your senses like that isn’t good for you, and it’s dangerous, you’re lucky I’m not a vicious vampire or I would have been able to trick you so easily.”_

Minji was speechless. Still unsure, was she dreaming? Or hallucinating?

_“- You’re not hallucinating dummy!”_ She heard Handong’s voice once again echoing in her head and saw her chuckle. _“- Yes I’m a vampire too. If you looked around you carefully you would have guessed the first time.”_

_“- Sorry I guess I’m just chocked, I didn’t meet another vampire in years.”_

_“- It’s not good for you…”_ Handong said and grabbed Minji’s right hand between hers. She turned it palm facing the ceiling and, slowly, she traced the scar lying in the palm with her finger. _“- Look, you’re not healing quickly. I smelled your blood when you hurt yourself earlier, I was already worried for you and look: you shouldn’t have a scar like that.”_

_“- It’s fine, I’ll feed at home and I’ll be okay.”_

_“- I have a better idea. Please wait for me outside, I’ll be out at 6pm exactly.”_ Handong said, looking at her softly, still caressing the inside of her hand with her thumb.

Minji felt the manager approaching and she guessed her time was up, she had to take a decision quickly. Everything was going too fast and felt surreal but she was sure of something: she didn’t want this conversation to end. She had so many questions for Handong, she would regret refusing this offer.

“- _Alright.”_ She replied mentally to the singer. _“- Should I wait here or elsewhere? How can I find you without others seeing you?”_

_“- Just wait outside the venue.”_ Handong replied quickly eyeing the manager who was now asking Minji to move. “- And remember to open your eyes! See you soon.” The singer finally let go of Minji’s hand, she waved at her when Minji stood and winked at her when she started to walk away.

Minji bowed to her one last time while walking backward and finally turned around, a shy smile growing on her face. She returned quickly to her seat, and waited not so patiently for the fansign to be over.

After all the fans got their album signed and Handong performed her song one last time, it was finally time for everyone to leave. Minji checked the watch on her wrist. 5:45pm. She only had fifteen minutes to wait before Handong would go out. Feeling her excitement and restlessness coming back, she decided to take a walk around the building, walking as fast as she could without looking suspicious, she found her rhythm and after circling the building a few times, it was close to 6pm.

She looked around the entrance of the building, trying to see if Handong was there already. Fans were all long gone and there weren’t too many people in the cold street, the sun was low and people were starting to head back home, Minji was the only unmoving figure in the a flow of humans hurrying around her.

Once again, she looked out for Handong but the vampire was nowhere to be seen. After a few seconds, Minji remember what she told her just before leaving. “Open your eyes.” Well. Minji knew what she had to do, she simply wasn’t used to do that anymore, especially in the middle of the city. She closed her eyes, her physical eyes, right now, she needed to focus on the memory of Handong’s scent. End of summer. That’s how she would describe the scent that came back to her mind. Fully focused on it, she took a deep breath and see if she could locate it once more. Surprisingly soon enough, she was able to find the smell again, and if her hunting skills were still reliable, it seemed that the trace was fresh. She opened her eyes and started moving, feeling her senses arise, she was moving lightly and quickly on her feet, following the scent as she would do with a prey. That feeling was thriving and she had to control herself to not start running as she would do in a real hunt.

She couldn’t remember the last time she hunted a living prey but she felt like she hadn’t lost anything and soon enough, she was locating Handong in a small alley. She approached the vampire who was now wearing a large grey hoodie and a cap planted on her head, partially covering her eyes. As soon as Minji was close enough, she greeted her with a smile.

“- I knew you’d be able to find me.” She teased the other girl. “- Come on let’s not stay here, we have to walk for a bit.”

“- Where are you taking me?” Minji asked, curious to know about their destination.

“- Somewhere you can put your mask down.” Handong replied with a smirk.

They walked for a bit in a comfortable silence, Minji was still having troubles realizing what was happening to her. Her idol, that she met a week ago, was actually a vampire and was now taking her somewhere. Kpop was suddenly so far even though it was what brought them together in the first place.

“- Why are you doing this?” Minji suddenly asked “- I mean, inviting me and, I guess, wanting to help me?”

“- It’s sad to see you trying to suppress your true nature when you can actually control it and enjoy your life within humans!”

“- But I’m fine like this…” Minji replied with a small voice. She was not convinced by her own words. Handong was right, it was not good for her, and even if she realized it a few years ago, she didn’t know how to change, or maybe simply couldn’t on her own, petrified by her own fear.

“- No offense, but you’re not fine Minji. I could feel your anxiety all the way from backstage this afternoon, I recognized it even before I recognized your scent. You literally pierced your own hands with your nails to calm down.” Handong explained calmly but with a firm ton. She grabbed Minji’s hand to examine it once more: “-And you still didn’t heal properly. You know you’re not supposed to have a scar, right?” She said while letting go of her hand, linking their arms instead.

Minji was surprised by the sudden closeness of their bodies and Handong’s worries about her wellbeing but before she could react, the singer pulled her slightly on the right and indicated that they’ve reached their destination. A bar. At least from outside, it seemed no different than any other bar in the city.

As soon as they passed the door and entered the place, their arms still linked closely, Handong was greeted by the woman standing behind the counter. The place was almost empty, only a small group of people were occupying a table at the back of the room. The two vampires approached the woman who was now smiling warmly at Handong. Minji took a second to observe her features: her hair, dyed a vibrant blue, were contouring the shape of her face with grace, her eyes were sharp yet kind and when she talked again, Minji simply wanted to keep listening to her smooth and warm voice forever.

“- I see you’re bringing company today Dongie!” The blue-haired woman started.

“- Yes, this is Minji.” Handong replied and then turned to Minji. “- Minji, this is Siyeon, the owner of this place and my best friend.”

“- Nice to meet you, Minji!”

“- Nice to meet you too.” Minji replied softly.

“- Can we go downstairs?” Handong asked, lowering her voice.

“- Of course.” Siyeon replied and instantly grabbed a set of key and guided them to a door next to the counter. She opened it with the key and pulled it open, letting the two women enter. Before closing it behind them, she passed her head through the door and added:

“- Have fun, I’ll probably close soon and come say hi later.”

“- Thank you Siyeon.” Handong replied to her friend with a warm smile. Siyeon closed the door and Minji heard the key turning into the lock. She turned her head to inspect the room.

It was empty. Not bigger than an elevator, the walls were all white and there was no window. They were basically inside a huge, locked box. At least that’s how Minji felt right now. Starting to worry, she looked at Handong with an interrogating look. Before she could ask anything, Handong reassured her. 

“- Don’t worry, this is just a safe space to be able to go to the real place. We’re going to simply teleport downstairs. It’s the only access to make sure humans never find it.”

“- Oh. That’s actually a smart idea.”

Handong let go of Minji’s arm that was still linked with her own and took her hands in hers.

“- It is, right? Siyeon is really dedicated to make this place the ideal place for vampires. Okay let’s go, I’ll guide you for the first time, alright? Just relax and follow my lead.”

Minji tightened her grip on Handong’s hands but relaxed the rest of body. Closing her eyes, she did her best to focus on Handong’s energy. A few seconds later, she could feel every molecule of their two bodies getting reshaped in space. When she opened her eyes again, they were in a room similar in size as the one before but the decoration was already way more welcoming.

The walls were painted a punchy red, with a single horizontal black stripe running over them, right in the middle. In front of them was a black metallic door that seemed to be reinforced. On top of it, there was a large sign saying “Welcome to The Cardinal’s Nest” with a couple of red birds flying around the letters. Handong approached the door and rang a doorbell that Minji didn’t see at first, on the right side of the door. A few seconds later, a voice was heard coming from the other side.

“- Who’s there?”

“- It’s Handong, I’m with Minji, my friend.”

They heard the clicking sound of the lock barrel moving and an instant later, the door was opening, revealing a beautiful woman, a little shorter, and probably younger than Minji. Her long black hair was cascading on her shoulders, reaching her hips in beautiful waves. As soon as she laid her eyes on Handong, she smiled at her brightly and didn’t hesitate another second before coming to hug her friend.

“- I’m so happy to see you!”

“- Me too, it’s been a while, how was your trip?” Handong asked while returning the hug.

“- Amazing! But I’ll tell you the details later, I can see you’ll be busy tonight.” The young girl said, breaking the hug to look at her friend with a smirk on her face. Handong simply laughed and turned around to let Minji get closer to them.

“- Gahyeon, this is my new friend Minji. Minji, this is Gahyeon, Siyeon’s girlfriend.”

“- One of Siyeon’s girlfriend.” Gahyeon corrected. “But enough about me, Minji, I’m really glad to meet you and I’m sure we’ll have time to get to know each other. For now, you two go sit down at a nice table and wait for me, I’ll bring you something to drink, I’ve learn some new things while I was away!” The girl said, while pushing the two others lightly, not letting them a chance to discuss.

Handong laughed and took Minji’s hand to lead her to a table at the back of the bar. When they finally sat down, Minji took her time to observe the room.

The room was pretty large, there was about fifteen tables quite far from each other, giving privacy to their occupants. The walls were painted a beautiful deep burgundy red and the lights were dim, giving a dark atmosphere to the whole room, probably too dark for the human kind, but this lightning was pretty comfortable for vampires, Minji took a second to enjoy the calm and the silence before turning back to Handong who was quietly observing her.

“- Is this place soundproof?” She asked to the singer.

“- Yes actually it is, everything here was made for vampires, so you can relax and not overthink about hiding your true form or holding back your senses, you won’t be overstimulated and won’t have to drink or eat disgusting things just to blend in.” Handong explained.

“- That’s actually pretty nice, I didn’t know such place existed in this city… I didn’t even know there was a vampire community if I’m being honest.” Minji admitted shyly.

“- You don’t have vampire friends?” Handong asked, curious to know more about Minji.

“- I- No.” Minji replied and lowered her eyes to look at her hands. “- The last time I met a vampire was a long long time ago and things didn’t really ended well… Since then I decided to just live my life on my own, according to my own rules and needs.”

“- I see, I understand now.”

“- What do you understand?” Minji asked.

“- Why you were so nervous around people at the fansign. It’s not good to isolate yourself too much, you know?” Handong said while grabbing her hand.

“- Well.” Minji started. _“-You better make sure I won’t be alone anymore then.”_ She finished mentally, too shy to say those words out loud, but she was looking at Handong straight the eyes, doing her best to convey her honest feelings.

“- I will.” Handong replied, giving a squeeze to Minji’s hand and a warm smile. Minji could see by the softness in her eyes that the singer was being sincere and it warmed her cold heart.

Gahyeon came back with their drinks, as Minji expected, blood was on the menu. But Gahyeon explained proudly:

“- Not just any blood! Just try it, you’ll understand, this is a mix of several types of blood and it stimulates your senses differently. Enjoy ladies!” She said while turning around and walking towards the bar.

The drinks were indeed excellent, Minji had never drunk something like that before, she recognized human and some other animals’ bloods but couldn’t decipher the other ingredients… She already wanted to drink more, and reminded herself to congratulate Gahyeon for this drink later.

Enjoying their ruby cocktails, the two vampires talked for hours: when you live for centuries, there’s a lot to catch up. Minji explained to Handong how her love for music pushed her to travel the world to discover everything she could about it, new instruments, new uses, new trends… With the knowledge she gathered, she was basically a walking Music encyclopedia.

She discovered that Handong, who was a bit younger than her, also had this passion for music, but she didn’t stop at listening and learning about it only, for years now, she creates her own music. That’s how she ended up starting an idol career.

“- I love music and performance, I love having new experiences and trying new stuffs, and, I won’t lie, I love attention. This was perfect for me and I’m having a lot of fun!” she explained to Minji.

“- How long have you been writing music?”

“- I don’t remember when I started exactly because I used to simply create melody in my head and keep them for myself. I started to seriously learn it forty years ago I think, and then I bought my studio fifteen years ago to record and produce, this is when I started to create my own music as we know it, composing, writing lyrics, producing… You know how this works.”

“- I hope I’ll hear more of your music, I already loved your single, but I can guess you have more to offer.” Minji replied, genuinely curious about Handong’s musical creations.

“- Actually…” Handong took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. “- I’m working on something different these days and having an opinion on it would be great. We can meet at the studio tomorrow, I have a free day before starting another week of promotions. You can listen there and tell me what you think.”

“- You own the studio right?” Minji asked as a reply.

“- Uh, yes, why?” Handong seemed perplex.

“- Let’s go now, it’s not like we need to sleep anyway.” Minji didn’t want to say goodbye so soon. Handong chuckled and smiled at the other girl while taking her hand in hers once again. She stood up and pulled Minji up:

“- Let’s go.” Handong whispered. _“- I don’t want to say goodbye now either.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was hard for me to update and I'm so sorry for being so late, I keep having ideas without being satisfied but finally, I know where I want to go!   
> I don't want this to be too long though, I think I'll write one or two more chapters, and I'll keep writing and updating these days since I have inspiration and motivation!   
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think at https://curiouscat.me/JDCSUA


	3. A special song.

“- Music for vampires?” Minji asked as she was closing the door behind her.

Minji and Handong were getting comfortable in Handong’s music studio, it was close to midnight now, they had passed through the empty streets of the city to reach their second destination, not caring about sleep or following schedules anymore, but simply enjoying each other’s company according to their own notion of time.

“- Yes, you know how there are sounds that only we can hear, I thought I’d use that to create music that only vampires can truly enjoy… And maybe cats.” Handong laughed as she was turning the computer and other machines on. “- Do you want to hear it?”

“- Of course, that’s why we’re here, right?” Minji smiled brightly.

“- Alright so, sit down here” Handong replied removing some paper from a black desk chair that was waiting in a corner. “- Just relax as much as you can, I added a lot of details but to catch them you need to let your vampire self totally out, remember, this was made for a vampire’s ears, don’t hold back, you won’t feel aggressed by that song, and nothing is going to happen here so just let go and enjoy.”

“- Just give me a minute to get ready then.” Minji asked, knowing she’ll need some time to be able to fully relax, being calm and letting her vampire self out wasn’t really her strength these days.

“- Just close your eyes and squeeze my hand when you’re ready.” Handong told her softly while grabbing her hand softly, she was sitting close enough to let their intertwined hands rest on Minji’s laps.

Minji relaxed on the chair as she let her head slowly fall backward until she reached the backrest. It’s been a while since she last used her hearing to its full potential, leaving in the human world, especially in a city, was getting overwhelming in a matter of second if she let her vampire’s instinct out, even when humans considered it was a calm day, vampires were able to hear cars in the distance, conversations through the walls, factories and any other machine buzzing left and right, up and down, the noise was everywhere.

But her true nature was stronger than this, and within a few minutes, her fangs were out poking her lower lips gently, she could feel the air passing on her skin and she could hear the low buzz of every part of the computer sitting in front of them. She was ready. She gently squeezed Handong’s hand and even with her eyes closed, she could feel the younger vampire move to reach the play button and heard the single click emanating from the keyboard, indicating the song was starting to play.

The whole song was articulated around a heartbeat sound. As the intensity of the song went crescendo, the heartbeat was accelerating, becoming louder and giving Minji the impression to hear her own heart beating, reacting to the song. Nostalgia. That’s what was emanating from this song, some sounds were resonating deeply with Minji’s mind, bringing back tons of sensations she forgot she was still able to feel, humans sensations, warmness in her chest recalling ghosts of feelings, all deeply rooted to her past existence and vampiric sensations, created during her rebirth: sensitivity to certain sounds, impulse to track and hunt whatever person was hiding this tempting heart, pumping blood through their fragile body again and again.

The song was taking her in an intense journey, she could feel her hand gripped on the armrests of the chair, trying to hold to reality, the other still holding Handong’s tightly. She was truly enjoying the song, but what was left of her soul was trembling in her body and she needed an anchor to let her mind travel wherever this was taking her. She wouldn’t be able to say how long did she stay like this, but after a few minutes, the rhythm was slowing down, allowing her to relax her body once more, let her mind settle down from this storm of memories and sensations, the heartbeat was becoming weaker, slowly fading until only the bass line was heard for a few more notes, finally concluding the song.

If she were still able to cry, Minji would probably be ruining her make up right now. She allowed herself a few more seconds with her eyes closed while gently rubbing the back of Handong’s hand to indicate her that she was okay, she was there, simply processing what just happened and Handong seem to understood because she didn’t move at all, didn’t say anything until the older vampire finally felt ready to open her eyes and talk about her experience, her opinion on that song. When at last she was able to let her fangs back in and be calm enough, she started to talk.

“- Am I the first to hear it?” She started by asking, seeing worries on Handong’s face.

“- Actually yes, it’s something I created from my own perspective but I wasn’t sure other vampires would be able to relate to it so I kept it for myself for now, trying to perfect it. I was planning to let Siyeon listen to it soon, but when I saw how much you liked music, and how alike we were somehow, I thought... Why not? I’m sorry if this was a bad idea or a bad experience for you-”

“- Are you kidding me, Handong this is amazing! It’s just.” Minji paused, licking her lips, she looked away, looking for the right words. “- I don’t know how to explain what I felt exactly, but I think I had memories of sensation from when I was still human and at the same time, I felt my senses as a vampire being over stimulated by some sounds, some voices. You weren’t the only one singing here right? I heard three different people I think.”

“- Yes, Siyeon and Yoohyeon helped me a while ago when I started to have new equipment, I was curious to know if they could record some really high or low pitched sounds and they’re both great singers so we had fun together here, and they told me I could use what we recorded in the future, that’s when I had this idea for the first time actually.”

“- Well, it’s brilliant! If I’m being honest, it was quite intense so I wouldn’t listen to it every single day, but that was definitely worth it, and if you were to invite me again here to hear it again, I wouldn’t say no.”

“- Guess I’ll work on a new song to have a reason to invite you again.” Handong replied, a playful ton coloring her voice.

“- That, or just admit you want to see me again.” Minji said, following the younger vampire’s ton.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, allowing Minji to digest the rush of emotions she felt and to settle down completely. All this time, she never let go of Handong’s hand in hers. A few hours ago they were still stranger but there was already something reassuring and comforting about her, something that she understood now she was truly missing and longing for.

Within a few hours, Minji discovered so many new things about this city, the vampire community within it, and all the things she was missing out because of her own fears. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be alone anymore and wouldn’t have to face those fears on her own. She chuckled at her own thoughts, realizing how stupid her situation was: she was supposed to be a fearless and powerful creature and yet, she got immobilized by no one else but herself. It was almost ironic, her worst demon was simply her own train of thoughts.

“- What are you laughing at?” Handong asked curiously.

“- Myself… Seeing how you’ve been living, I feel pathetic for hiding and restricting myself for so long.”

“- Eh, don’t be too harsh with yourself. It’s not like we’re living in a world that was made for us, I totally understand how you ended up like this, to be honest, I just got lucky I met Siyeon when we were both young vampires and we had the same ideas, so we could help each other through the years, otherwise I would have probably hide too.”

“- That’s really nice. I hope I can get to know Siyeon and Gahyeon too.”

“- You will, you have to meet Yoohyeon too, something is telling me you’re going to get along very well with her.”

“- Yoohyeon?”

“- Yes, Siyeon and Gahyeon’s other girlfriend, the three of them are girlfriends and they’re just so cute together, you will see!” Handong explained.

After chatting in the studio for the whole night and a part of the morning, the conversations flowing naturally between them, the two vampires decided it was time to go out again and go back to their respective homes. They had been honest with each other, they simply didn’t want this moment to end, but they knew they would have other many other occasions to meet now. Many promises were made, Minji would go back to the next fansign to cheer on Handong, she would meet Handong’s friends next week and they planned to have another listening session in the studio next weekend.

Seeing how happy Handong was to propose all these plans to Minji was reassuring for her, she obviously wasn’t the only one wanting to spend more time together. 

A soft smile on her lips, a warmer heart after squeezing Handong in a goodbye hug, Minji started to walk home, knowing very well that with this meeting, her life was taking a new turn and would change for the better. She was realistic, she would have to work on her fears and her inner demons, but at least, she had someone willing to support her and give her the motivation to do so and that’s exactly what she needed.

When she reached her place, her mind still light and dreamy from last night, she plunged on her sofa and took a moment to close her eyes and step back, trying to understand what truly happened between her and the younger vampire. It was the first time she felt such a strong bond with someone she just met. After a few minutes, she realized it was better to not overthink about this for now, she knew she would have time to understand to true nature of her feelings later, until then, she would focus on enjoying every moment with her, and accept her feelings just as they come.

She opened her eyes when she felt her phone vibrates in her pocket. She took it out and smiled and the single sentence appearing on her screen, confirming she wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

_I can’t wait to see you again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After thinking a lot about this, I've decided to end it this way. I know that I opened so many doors, so many possibilities to write a long story in this universe, but initially, I wanted to write a one shot lol. So it was really hard for me to find a way to make it short and write this ending when so many ideas bloomed in my head, but it was a nice challenge for me and even though I know this is FAR from being perfect, I hope you like it! 
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you think here in the comments or on curious cat at https://curiouscat.me/JDCSUA


End file.
